Teaching Communication Skills in Transactional Simulations

Digital Commons University of Georgia Digital Commons University of Georgia

School of Law School of Law

Scholarly Works Faculty Scholarship

1-1-2019

Teaching Communication Skills in Transactional Simulations Teaching Communication Skills in Transactional Simulations

Eric J Gouvin Western New England University School of Law

Katherine M Koops Emory University School of aw

James E Moliterno Washington and Lee University School of Law

Carol Morgan University of Georgia School of Law cemorganugaedu

Carol D Newman University of Missouri School of Law

Repository Citation Repository Citation Eric J Gouvin Katherine M Koops James E Moliterno Carol Morgan and Carol D Newman Teaching Communication Skills in Transactional Simulations 20 Transactions Tenn J Bus L 429 (2019) Available at httpsdigitalcommonslawugaedufac_artchop1301

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Commons University of Georgia School of Law It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholarly Works by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons University of Georgia School of Law Please share how you have benefited from this access For more information please contact tstriepeugaedu

TEACHING COMMUNICATION SKILLS INTRANSACTIONAL SIMULATIONS

Eric J Gouvin Katherine M Koops James E Moliterno

Carol E Morgan amp Carol D Newman

Abstract This article describes the role of communication exercises in transactional law and skills education and provides several examples of such exercises After a discussion of fundamental differences between communication in the context of litigation and transactional law the article discusses exercises designed to improve written communication skills including the use of e-mail in the context of transactional law It follows with a similar discussion of exercises focusing on oral communication skills including listening interviewing counseling negotiation and presentations The article concludes with examples of exercises combining oral and written communication skills in the context of simulated transactions

General Introduction

Communication skills are vital for practicing attorneys and law students benefit strongly from opportunities to practice and develop their communication skills In particular carefully constructed simulation exercises can help students find their voices and become more confident in their communications learn how to address different audiences improve writing skills including grammar and accuracy and learn to speak clearly and effectively In focusing on opportunities for students to develop overall professional communication skills this article emphasizes

Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus Western New England University School of Law

Assistant Director Center for Transactional Law and Practice and Adjunct Professor Emory University School of Law

Vincent Bradford Professor of Law Washington and Lee University School of Law

Clinical Professor and Director Business Law and Ethics Program University of Georgia School of Law

Transactional Professor of Law University of Missouri School of Law

430 TRANSACTIONS THE TENNESSEE JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LAW [Vol 20

the special need to teach skills for lawyer communications outside the context of a dispute

The Importance of Context Transactional Law vs Litigation

In rough terms lawyers may be divided into two groups those whose work looks forward and those whose work looks backward This simple division says much about a lawyerrsquos ethical and legal responsibility and about lawyer-client relationships including lawyer-client communication and control

First when a lawyerrsquos work looks backward as is typically the case in litigation the lawyer bears no moral ethical or legal responsibility for the past acts of the client The lawyer simply represents the client in the clientrsquos interactions with the legal system But the lawyer whose work looks forward is a partner with the client in creating the future and future facts The transactional lawyer assists in creating employer-employee relationships for the client who owns a business in creating a set of legal relationships for the client setting up a tax plan or a new entity or the debt relationship between a client and a lender for example All these transactional lawyer acts make events happen in the future that would not otherwise have occurred In these respects the forward-looking transactional lawyer bears a measure of ethical and legal responsibility with the client for the quality of those future facts

Second and partly but not entirely driven by the first aspect interactions between the backward-looking lawyer and her client can be vastly different than those between the forward-looking lawyer and her client The litigation client is truly on the lawyerrsquos playing field and will normally defer to the lawyerrsquos judgment about how to play the litigation game Other than repeat litigation players who sometimes think they know the game as well as their lawyers do litigation clients feel relatively helpless in the land of lawyers and courts As a result the interactions and communications between litigation lawyers and clients favor strongly the expertise of the lawyer and in general wise clients reasonably defer to the lawyer But the transactional client is usually different from the litigation client The transactional client is doing business and the lawyer is less knowledgeable about this playing field than is the client The consequence is that the communication favors the clientrsquos superior knowledge and expertise as it should The client is far more likely to define the scope of

2019] TEACHING COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN TRANSACTIONAL SIMULATIONS 431

the lawyerrsquos workmdashldquotell me the legal implications and leave the business judgments to merdquo

Our students in transactional courses and especially simulations need to see this from the outset They have been conditioned from the first day of law school to think of the lawyerrsquos work as litigation work They have little understanding of the work of transactional lawyers whose fondest hope is to keep their clientrsquos situation from being excerpted in a law school casebook In dealing with a simulated business client (say Morgan Buyer) an ill-prepared student is liable to tell the client (as a litigation lawyer surely would) ldquodo not communicate with Lee Seller directly about this matterrdquo A well-prepared simulated client might very well respond by telling the lawyer to stick with analyzing law and leave the personal relationships to the business client The business client wants to be far more in charge of everything except the pure analysis of law And even here the client is fairly likely to tell the lawyer to ldquofigure out the law so that I can do what I wantrdquo

Without a foundational understanding of these differences between business and litigation clients students will usually collapse their expectations into the default of litigationmdashwhat they have read in casebooks and seen in popular culture Students understand transactional work and tasks far better when they have this foundational understanding of the lawyer-client relationship and the litigation-transactional divide

A Task Force of the Business Law Education Committee of the ABArsquos Section on Business Law has undertaken an effort to identify the core skills and competencies that new business lawyers should either possess upon leaving law school or acquire as their professional life begins1

The inventory of key competencies employs the framework articulated in the MacCrate Report which lists essential skills and values for lawyers generally but looks at those attributes through the lens of the business lawyer [Importantly i]n addition to the MacCrate skills and values the Task Force has added a set of behavioral competencies of effective business lawyers2

1 Barbara Wagner et al Defining Key Competencies for Business Lawyers Report of the Task Force on Defining Key Competencies for Business Lawyers 72 BUS LAW 101 110 (2017) 2 Id at 112

For legal educators the current ABA standards for accreditation of law schools creates a compelling incentive to assess competencies in order to articulate meaningful ldquolearning outcomesrdquo3 Since the ABA standards also require law schools to implement mechanisms to evaluate ldquothe schoolrsquos effectiveness in achieving its stated educational objectivesrdquo4

the inventory of transactional law competencies may be useful to law schools in complying with those provisions as they relate to the business law curriculum The articulation of these key competencies may be an aid to law school faculties in developing curricula to law teachers in designing specific courses to law students in planning a course of study and to the business law bar in identifying areas in which to devote resources for associate development

Written Communication

Background

Typical written transactional communications include communications with (1) the client (2) the supervising attorney or other members of the legal team representing the client (3) counsel for the other side or (4) third parties such as accountants or auditors Although these parties also receive written communications in the context of legal or business disputes the context of forward-looking transactions generally changes the nature of transactional communications from lawyers

Letters and Memos

For example typical letters and memos to a supervising attorney a client or counsel for the other side often range from straightforward communications arranging meetings or transmitting information to more

3 See AM BAR ASSrsquoN ABA STANDARDS AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL OFLAW SCHOOLS 2014-2015 sect 302 httpwwwamericanbarorgcontentdamabapublicationsmisclegal_educationSt andards2014_2015_aba_standards_chapter3authcheckdampdf (requiring that law schools establish learning outcomes) 4 See AM BAR ASSrsquoN ABA STANDARDS AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL OFLAW SCHOOLS 2014-2015 sect 204 httpwwwamericanbarorgcontentdamabapublicationsmisclegal_educationSt andards2014_2015_aba_standards_chapter2authcheckdampdf (requiring as part of the law schoolrsquos pre-inspection self-study an evaluation of the schoolrsquos effectiveness in achieving the educational objectives)

complicated transmittal communications such as cover letters sending copies of documents drafts of agreements under consideration or under negotiation or memos regarding specific legal issues When drafts of agreements under negotiation are exchanged with counsel for the other side the communications can become much more complex as they often include explanations that advocate for specific language or issues that favor onersquos client Students must learn to consider various legal and ethical issues in determining the appropriate content form and tone of a written communication to a specific type of addressee and they must learn how to deal with varying expectations of formality especially when combining friendly tone with formal legal communications5 In all these considerations students must also recognize inherent advantages and disadvantages in the uses of appropriate media of communication especially as electronic communication is now the mode of delivery for most traditional transactional written communications

Letter to Client Exercise

One exercise to help students begin to identify and focus on the need for careful language in communicating with clients is to have the students as a group review a grammatically flawed letter after they have completed background readings on grammar and writing style In using this exercise the professor projects the letter on the screen and then goes around the room one student at a time analyzing each sentence for grammatical or usage errors The student is asked to identify and discuss what is wrong and then to suggest with real-time editing a better way to convey the idea This exercise is also an opportunity to introduce students to traditional proofreading symbols so that students will know how to mark up an actual paper document without relying exclusively on electronic edits and comparisons of documents

5 Students must learn to recognizemdashand handle differentlymdashspecial types of third-party communications that require specific knowledge and experience as a threshold for communication Two obvious examples are (1) legal opinions to third parties (often called ldquothird-party opinion lettersrdquo) which are often unfamiliar to litigators who do not practice in the area of commercial transactions and (2) audit letter responses These two types of third-party communications are beyond the scope of this article but students must still be reminded that these types of communications require sophisticated knowledge and experience in the specific subjects and protocols in determining the appropriateness scope and content of these communications Failure to recognize the purpose and practice of these types of third-party communications could result in unintended assumption of liability in the delivery of these written communications

Engagement Letter Exercise

After students have learned to focus on grammar and usage a helpful exercise is to ask the students to mark up someone elsersquos draft memo of an engagement lettermdashthis time in the role of a supervising attorney giving feedback Students are asked to pay careful attention to the draft and to make appropriate comments and edits In so doing they become even more familiar with the types of issues that arise when imprecise or incorrect language is used and with proofreading symbols typically used to mark up internal drafts

Cover Memo Exercise

Finally another preliminary exercise introduces students to potential problems that might arise from generally reassuring a client about future actions and consequences without careful consideration of the language used This exercise uses a form of a flawed cover memo to a client in which the student is asked to try to find one or more sentences that might (1) overstate or promise results (2) create confusion in the clientrsquos understanding of the transaction (3) describe agreements for which the client has not had an opportunity to make its own decision (4) suggest actions that might not be in the clientrsquos best interests or (5) suggest actions that might create ethical issues regarding the attorneyrsquos role in the transaction The discussion of these five questions should lead to identification of typical issues of ethics and professionalism in transactional representations the role of a transactional attorney in a forward-looking business transaction including opportunities for the lawyerrsquos legal advice and the role of the client in making its own business decisions and the need for clear and carefully chosen language for communication

E-mail Communications

Todayrsquos students have also grown up in a world where even oral communications have been supplanted by written electronic communications As a result it is important to emphasize to students that electronic texting chatting and posting of communications that they use conversationally are still written communications that must be treated as written communications These communications might be subject to unintended discoverability In discussing the likely use of electronic transmittal and storage of current written communications it is important to emphasize the perils not only of the choices of methods of electronic communication but also of the ease with which confidentiality can be lost

Examples in which confidentiality can be easily lost include accidental autofill of e-mail addresses or the forwarding of e-mails to new parties without attention to possible subject changes during the course of an e-mail thread such as inviting a new party to a meeting when the original e-mail contains confidential advice about the subject to be discussed at the meeting

In addition students are often unaware of the dangers of metadata and are relatively naiumlve about document enhancements such as comments and ldquotrack changesrdquo For example even after a classroom exercise on the dangers of documents with metadata one student accidentally submitted a homework assignment marking various ldquotrack changesrdquo and included comments that the student had not intended to submit The student did not realize that the metadata could still be there even if the student could not see the metadata on the computer screen when the document was e-mailed

E-mail negotiations are also full of opportunities formisunderstandings not only because of the loss of personal conversational tone in e-mails but especially because of the loss of spontaneous interruption of live conversations When a misunderstanding or misassumption occurs in a live conversation another conversant often interrupts to explain or clarify the misunderstanding when a misunderstanding occurs in e-mail the author continues to base the language that follows on the misunderstanding thus widening the gap of misunderstanding by the time the recipient reads it

E-mail-Only Negotiation Exercise

One helpful way to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of e-mail in negotiations is to conduct an e-mail-only negotiation exercise Inthis exercise students are divided into counsel for two different partiessuch as a buyer or a seller After receiving client instructions andbackground facts for the negotiation the student lawyers are paired offfor e-mail negotiations for one hour They are not permitted tocommunicate with each other by any other means such as by telephonein personal conversation or by being in the same room to observe bodylanguage After an hour they attend a debriefing session in which theydiscuss the pros and cons of e-mail communication in the context oftransactional negotiations In these debriefings they often observe that e-mail is helpful in setting agendas of items to be discussed in exchangingopening concerns and in exchanging specific language to be negotiated orrevised However they generally agree that a conversation often helps get

the parties to an agreementndashor at least an understanding of open issuesndash much more efficiently and accurately

Oral Communication

Background

Strong oral communications skills are as vital as strong written communication skills for transactional lawyers Consider all the times that transactional lawyers engage in oral communication meeting with clients or prospective clients interviewing clients advising and counseling clients discussing a transaction with business advisors negotiating a contract making a presentation to a client or a board and more In all these settings the lawyer needs to be able to communicate clearly concisely and confidently

Law schools have a prime opportunity to help students develop oral communication skills in transactional simulations As a key part of this training students will appreciate that oral communication for transactional lawyers is relationalmdashit is about creating dialogue with others This characteristic is a notable difference from the litigation advocacy training that they receive in law school

The first step is to make the classroom a safe space for students to practice their skills They need to be comfortable speaking in class and having discussions and interactions with each other Some students say they are shy introverted and do not feel comfortable participating in class Our role as professors is to help these students ldquocome out of their shellrdquo and realize the value they can provide when they find their voice They need to understand that they will not be effective as lawyers if they sit in a meeting in total silence On the other hand some students dominate every class discussion and drown out other voices The challenge is to help these students learn to listen more and participate with more discretion Other students say that they are willing to participate but they cannot think of good questions to ask or do not have anything to contribute Professors need to help these students gain more confidence in their critical thinking skills and their ability to ask good questions

Creating a Safe Classroom

How do we create a safe space in the classroom for all our students Ice-breakers at the beginning of the semester are helpful One simple ice-breaker is to have students interview someone in the class they do not know well for three- to five-minutes without taking notes and

then reverse roles Afterward each student reports on the interview to the rest of the class noting three-to-five distinctive things they learned about the other student Students often discover common interests or connections with each other This exercise reinforces the value of relationship-building

During the semester other exercises can strengthen the safety of the classroom for communications These include break-out groups ldquoturn to your neighborrdquo discussions and team work In a comfortable safe class setting professors can implement practical exercises that will help students develop a variety of skills to improve oral communication

Listening Skills

Students need to realize that oral communication is not just about talking listening is one of the most important skills for a good communicator One exercise to practice listening skills is a three-part role play Prior to this exercise the class has a brief discussion about the attributes of active listening In the exercise one student is the talker one is the listener and one is the coachobserver The talker may describe a challenge that he or she is facing or the professor may provide a scenario The coachobserver has a written list of criteria for active listening skills which is attached as Appendix A The talker discusses the situation for about three minutes and the listener practices listening skills and tries to resist the urge to talk and fix the problem Afterward the coach provides feedback to the listener

Peer Debriefing Exercise

A simple listening exercise can be incorporated into a peer debriefing In this exercise after pairs of students have completed a negotiation simulation the students are asked to think about the traits of an effective transactional negotiator Then they are asked to think of two ways in which the simulated counsel for the other side were effective as transactional lawyers When all students have thought of the two characteristics they are asked to meet with counsel for the other side and tell the other sidersquos counsel the two things that were especially good or effective

When all negotiating pairs or groups have exchanged their positive observations the professor leads a debriefing in which the goal is to assemble an overall list of traits of effective transactional negotiators The ldquolistening twistrdquo to this exercise is to ask the recipients of the positive feedback what they did well Inevitably this question evokes a surprised

reaction on the part of some students for they are fully prepared to say what they told their negotiating counterparts but they have not always listened so closely to carefully considered compliments from the other side This exercise often leads to another quick conversation among the negotiating groups to be able to report on positive feedback that each side received Most importantly it enables the professor to introduce a discussion about the importance of truly listening to feedbackmdashpositive as well as negativemdashand to using genuine positive feedback from the ldquoother siderdquo as reinforcement of strengths that will be beneficial during onersquos career as a transactional attorney

Initial Client Interview Exercise

An exercise that combines listening and interviewing skills involves two rounds of simulated meetings in which counsel meets with his or her client for the first time regarding the hypothetical sale of a business Students play the role of a client in one round and the role of counsel in the other which enables them to gain valuable perspective and experience in each role The exercise is best done in a class that provides at least ninety minutes for preparation engagement and debrief and can be performed one-on-one or two-on-two depending on class size

Prior to class the professor develops sets of ldquoBuyer Factsrdquo and ldquoSeller Factsrdquo describing the applicable partyrsquos business operations structure stakeholders and principal client concerns Each fact statement is no longer than two pages and is organized clearly to facilitate student review The facts may be presented to students in class with time to review them or before class with instructions to keep them confidential Students receive only one set of factsmdasheither Buyer Facts or Seller Factsmdashand also receive handouts on effective client interviewing skills for when they play the role of counsel

In Round One the professor breaks the class into two groups Seller Clients and Sellerrsquos Counsel Students who have received the Seller Facts will play Seller Clients and have approximately ten minutes to review their facts They are coached to answer only the questions asked and to respond to ldquoyes or nordquo questions with ldquoyes or nordquo answers At the same time the other students who are playing Sellerrsquos Counsel plan an initial interview with a client about which they know almost nothing Their goal is to ask questions listen to the clientrsquos responses and prepare a list of business and legal issues that they will share with the class

After the students have prepared they engage in a ten- to fifteen-minute client interview Students playing Sellerrsquos Counsel debrief the interviews each listing in turn one thing they learned about the Seller or its business or legal concerns When there are no new items to list the Seller Clients describe which questions elicited the most information whether they possessed material information they were not asked about and how that information could have been obtained In a short interview students can be so focused on getting through a list of questions in a limited amount of time that they donrsquot listen well to the answers or ask appropriate follow-up questions that elicit valuable information

Round 2mdashthe Buyer Interviewmdashoperates in the same way except that students who played clients in Round 1 now play counsel in Round 2 and vice versa This gives each student the opportunity to play both roles and gain relevant experience and perspective In Round 2 the interviews tend to capture more information because students have already gained experience in asking appropriate questions listening to the answers and following up with additional questions as needed

Code of Conduct Exercise

Another way to practice interviewing and counseling skills is a role-play involving a companyrsquos Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics which is an easily accessible teaching tool Most companiesmdashpublic and privatemdashpost their Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics on their website An added benefit of this exercise is that students discover another means of corporate governance a companyrsquos Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics which often exceeds the requirements of law and regulations and reflects a companyrsquos ethical culture

In this role-play a student acting as an employee approaches a student acting as corporate counsel for the company and asks about a situation that may be a violation of the companyrsquos Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics A list of suggested scenarios is attached as Appendix B An example involves an outside law firm offering an attorney on the legal staff tickets to the Masters Super Bowl or NCAA championshipmdash whatever is in season The student acting as an employee is coached to challenge and question the student acting as corporate counsel in an effort to mimic reality

The student acting as corporate counsel responds to the employee relying on the companyrsquos Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics Students

acting as attorneys do not receive any direction before the exercise about appropriate interviewing or counseling skills

During the debriefing after the exercise students acting as corporate counsel often recognize that their natural instinct is to jump in and immediately start giving their opinion or advice They discover they need to stop and ask questions and gather informationmdashin other words they need to interview the employee and listen Only then will they be able to counsel the employee in a reasoned informed way They also realize they need to be aware of their tone and approachability and to practice their creative problem-solving skills instead of giving an automatic ldquonordquo In addition to feedback by professors students give feedback to each other in classmdashdescribing what was effective and what could be improved in the studentrsquos method of interviewing and counseling

Negotiation Skills

Negotiation exercises are a valuable way to practice communication skills Prior to any exercises students will benefit from reading about and discussing basic negotiation skills particularly in a transactional (as opposed to a litigation or dispute resolution) context6

In contract drafting or deals classes students can negotiate contract provisions or deal terms with guidance from the professor as to the issues on each side A number of textbooks have negotiation exercises and Harvardrsquos Program on Negotiation7 and Northwesternrsquos Dispute Resolution Research Center8 offer simple and complex negotiation role-plays for a reasonable fee

6 Many negotiation resources are available Three helpful books are ROGER FISHER ETAL GETTING TO YES NEGOTIATING AGREEMENT WITHOUT GIVING IN (3d ed 2011) G RICHARD SHELL BARGAINING FOR ADVANTAGE NEGOTIATION STRATEGIES FORREASONABLE PEOPLE (2d ed 2006) and DEEPAK MALHOTRA amp MAX H BAZERMANNEGOTIATION GENIUS HOW TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES AND ACHIEVE BRILLIANTRESULTS AT THE BARGAINING TABLE AND BEYOND (2007) Summaries of GETTING TOYES can also be found on the Internet7 PROGRAM ON NEGOT HARV L SCH httpswwwponharvardedu (last visited Aug 25 2018) 8 NW KELLOGG DISP RESOL RES CTR httpswwwkelloggnorthwesterneduresearchdrrc (last visited Aug 25 2018)

Videotaped negotiation sessions offer a valuable teaching opportunity A rubric to evaluate negotiation skills is attached as Appendix C Students use the same rubric to evaluate themselves and another videotaped negotiation by their peers While students are not gleeful about being videotaped beforehand they generally agree afterward that this experience is extremely beneficial One of the greatest take-aways is that they discover their body language or nonverbal communication needs improvement

Negotiation exercises also provide an ideal opportunity to discuss stylistic issues in communication Some students tend to use hedging language (ldquosort ofrdquo ldquoIrsquom not sure butrdquo ldquoI thinkI believerdquo ldquothis is the best way ndash rightrdquo) and inflections or up-speak at the end of sentences which may signal insecurity to the other side Professors can coach them to use stronger language (ldquoIrsquom confidentIrsquom convincedrdquo) and stronger voices Another common tendency is for some students to over-apologize over-commiserate and over-thank and professors can work with them to strike more balanced power at the table In addition all students need to be aware of the tendency of some speakers to interrupt or speak over others at the table and students can practice ways to be more sensitive and for all participants to speak up and be heard

In addition through negotiation exercises the class can have an open discussion about how we all bring cultural biases to the tablemdash whether itrsquos about someonersquos education hometown or station in lifemdash and that we need to be honest and recognize these biases avoid them and appreciate different perspectives

Presentation Skills

Oral communication can be in both informal and formal settings One of the best ways for students to practice communication skills in more formal settings is by making presentations However unless students get proper guidance in preparation and meaningful feedback presentations are often not very useful

To help students prepare they can read about and discuss presentation techniques9 Another way to prepare is for students to watch

9 See eg LEAH WORTHAM ET AL LEARNING FROM PRACTICE A TEXT FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEGAL EDUCATION 469ndash88 (3d ed 2016) (available online for a reasonable fee)

TED Talks10 (search on the Internet for the most viewed talks) critique presentation methods and determine what techniques such as telling stories or using pictures are effective and what they can incorporate in their presentations Through preparation students learn to focus more on the audience than on themselves They learn to consider the key points the audience needs to take away from the presentation and the most effective ways to engage their audience They also learn that they are likely to need to spend as much time on practicing the actual presentation as they do on preparing the content for the presentation

A presentation may be informative or it may be persuasive In a deals or mergers and acquisitions class students can prepare presentations about current deals in the news and demonstrate the knowledge they have learned in class In any simulation class students can make a presentation on a relevant legal topic to their classmates

As an example of a more persuasive presentation students tailor a presentation to a particular audience (such as a board of directors) and provide a recommendation on how to handle a risk facing a company In the process students learn about appropriate communication methods for different audiences In another exercise students prepare and deliver an ldquoelevator talkrdquo or brief talking points for a prospective employer about the value they have gained from a simulation course In some cases law students are not adept at promoting themselves and this exercise helps them talk about themselves in a safe but compelling way

A suggested rubric for a professorrsquos evaluation of student presentations is included as Appendix D This rubric can be provided to students before the presentation to set expectations in fact students can play a role in determining the criteria on the rubric The rubric can also be used after the presentation to provide feedback to students Peers can also provide written feedback based on what they learned from a presentation what went well and what could be improved (see the Peer Evaluation form attached as Appendix E)

Effective Use of Slides

Students should also understand how to use slides appropriately in presentations For many people making a presentation means using presentation software with PowerPoint being a typical example

10 TED httpswwwtedcomtalks (last visited Aug 25 2018)

It has become fashionable to bash PowerPoint as a tool designed to squelch original thought and destroy effective communication11

Although much of the criticism is insightful too many detractors set up a ldquostraw manrdquo argument in which they rail against obviously bad practices It is of course tedious to sit through a presentation in which the presenter is using PowerPoint as a teleprompter and just reading the speaking notes that the entire audience can see on the screen One must ask in those situations ldquoWhy do I need to be here when I can just read the slides laterrdquo

Similarly PowerPoint presentations sometimes contain extraneous animations sound effects and transitions that add nothing to the presentation and actually detract from it Yet these criticisms are not an indictment of PowerPoint itself but are instead legitimate criticisms of how the software has been misused Presenters can be inept at using the whiteboard too but we never hear calls for banning the whiteboard from presentations

The most important thing to remember is that the presentation is not about the PowerPointmdashthe presentation software is merely a tool to tell the story Therefore the biggest challenge is to get the content rightmdash make it exciting compelling and interesting The basic content must carry the heavy load In a classic spoof of PowerPoint internet pioneer Peter Norvig asked the question ldquoWhat if Lincoln had PowerPoint at Gettysburgrdquo12 The send-up is quite funny but the take-away should be obvious if your material is the Gettysburg Address then just use the Gettysburg Address you do not need presentation software to help with your communication

Unfortunately students rarely are working with material as compelling as the Gettysburg Address As a result PowerPoint can be a useful tool particularly in the following situations

Presenting Key Text

With regard to statutes and other important texts PowerPoint can be a significant aid to clear communication Getting the text up on the screen so the presenter and the audience are both reading from the same page can be a big help for audience members trying to follow along The presenter can use a laser pointer to indicate key passages that are the focus

11 See MICHAEL FLOCKER DEATH BY POWERPOINT (2006) 12 THE GETTYSBURG POWERPOINT PRESENTATION httpsnorvigcomGettysburg (last visited Aug 25 2018)

of the discussion Sometimes it helps to have a slide ready to highlight key language to drive a point home for the audience by using a different color font Sophisticated users can incorporate hyperlinks to enable cross-referencing to statutory and regulatory materials

Generating Clear and Sophisticated Graphics

For items that could be drawn on a whiteboard PowerPoint speeds up the presentation a bit because the presenter does not actually need to draw the object For people who are artistically challenged PowerPoint allows the presenter to incorporate higher production values into visual aids with nicely prepared graphics instead of terrible hand-drawn figures

Often presentations explaining legal ideas are organized according to a chronology PowerPoint is very useful in creating timelines to illustrate those chains of events Using the software the timeline can be animated so that key points are revealed only when the live discussion calls for them to be revealed

Similarly data that is best presented graphically can be communicated very effectively in PowerPoint The software allows the presenter to get the graphs right and not worry about things lining up It allows for legible highlighting through shading or font color changes and graphs can be animated to change if necessary

Enlivening Presentations

Letrsquos face it legal issues can be dry A special graphic or a little joke to lighten things up goes a long way and re-engages an audience whose attention is drifting PowerPoint as a visual medium allows a presenter to enliven presentations by supplementing oral communication with compelling visual aids Nearly every case has some visual aid that can help it come alive be it a picture of the parties the object of the lawsuit or a movie clip involving the subject PowerPoint also allows presenters to use sound effects but they should be used sparingly and not be linked to bullet points

Presenting Numbers Clearly

Finally PowerPoint is an excellent communication tool when numbers are crucial to a clear understanding Preparing slides in advance allows the presenter to get everything right make sure the numbers add up ensure they are legible and assess whether they move the presentation

forward For sophisticated users it might be even better to toggle to a spreadsheet or have a hyperlink

While PowerPoint is by no means a godsend and there are times when itrsquos inappropriate students will be called upon to use it on many occasions both in law school and in practice Understanding and mastering its effective use will aid students in communicating information that is difficult to convey with spoken words alone

Putting it All Together

The preceding exercises focus on oral or written communication as separate skills in the context of transactional law More sophisticated exercises and simulations can combine these skills with others such as issue-spotting research legal analysis connecting business interests with legal requirements project management and organization and recognizing and resolving ethical issues The following exercises exemplify combinations of these skills

Semester-Long Simulation

One of the biggest challenges facing business law professors is finding creative ways to present situations in which students can experience legal issues in a context that is relevant to what business lawyers do on a daily basis One of the best ways to do this is with a course set up as a simulation that allows students to role-play as a business lawyer representing a hypothetical client and interacting with that client as a lawyer wouldmdashincluding all the various aspects of communication discussed in this article Law students often have an underdeveloped view of business lawyers and the business people they represent Putting the students in a rolemdashand really making them live that rolemdashallows them to develop some empathy for the characters in the simulation and perhaps a better appreciation for business lawyers and their clients

In a simulation course students perform all kinds of transactional lawyering activities such as analyzing a term sheet drafting documents and preparing for a closing13 Simulations allow students to ldquoget their hands dirtyrdquo by actually engaging in the professional practices in which lawyers engage Some in the academy regard such exercises as too ldquovocationalrdquo to count as academic exercises but in reality these hands-on exercises only work if the students are well-grounded in theory

13 See Karl S Okamoto Learning and Learning-to-Learn By Doing Simulating Corporate Practice in Law School 45 J LEGAL ED 498 498ndash510 (1995)

Discussions among legal educators about the best way to educate future lawyers sometimes break down into a false dichotomy between ldquotheoryrdquo and ldquopracticerdquo as if the two notions cannot co-exist in the same course Such reductionist thinking is overly simplistic Theory informs practice practice applies theory They complement each other and a good transactional lawyer is comfortable in both worlds

In the context of teaching effective communication students must be encouraged to take a step back from activities they have been pretty good at for a long timemdashwriting and speakingmdashto think about how they could do those things more effectively There are theories behind effective writing compelling storytelling and persuasive speaking Theory however must be put to the test by devising ways for students to apply it in the context of professional practice

One approach to achieving that marriage of theory and practice is a simulation course called the Transactional Lawyering Seminar Although the seminar is designed around a hypothetical MampA transaction where a venture fund purchases a division of an existing corporation the course is not so much about a particular substantive area of law as it is about the practice of transactional law The goal of the course is to let students know what transactional lawyers do and why they do it

Following a hypothetical deal based on the problem in Prof Karl Okamotorsquos first Transactional LawMeetsreg competition students interview a client write a counseling letter to that client work with financial statements draft a term sheet for a deal mark up the other sidersquos term sheet negotiate on behalf of the client and make realistic plans for completing the transaction

The seminar is a limited enrollment class with 16 students Half of the students play the role of counsel to the seller and the other half play counsel to the buyer They do this in teams of two so four teams serve as buyerrsquos counsel and four teams serve as sellerrsquos counsel Since lawyers often work in teams this is a deliberate part of the course design

Thatrsquos the ldquowhat lawyers dordquo part

On the matter of ldquowhy they do itrdquo students are assigned readings that are at least conceptual if not theoretical on topics such as clear writing storytelling counseling drafting risk management strategy accounting project management interviewing negotiation and other topics When students object that they already know how to write to clients or tell a story they are reminded that therersquos nothing as practical as

a good theory Good theories help lawyers understand the world and guide them when they find themselves in unfamiliar territory In a world that changes as frequently as ours does this is practical indeed

During class sessions the entire group discusses the dayrsquos readings and relates the lessons to the hypothetical transaction Classes are real discussions with no computers allowed Students must submit three questions by 900 PM the night before class showing that they read the material Those questions form the basis of the next dayrsquos class discussion To keep the class focused on discussion and exercises the professor ldquoflipsrdquo the presentation to deliver substantive information online In this way class time is devoted to applying as opposed to developing ideas Outside of class student teams interact with the professor playing the role of the client

Exercise Combining Issue-Spotting Research Analysis and Client Advice

One of the great advantages of simulated exercises is that the professor can make happen whatever the professor wants to happen In the following exercise students are placed in a situation that replicates one of the core activities of the transactional lawyer translating law into an action plan to solve a clientrsquos problem

By either a reading or a brief lecture students are exposed to the existence of reduction-in-force laws such as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act14 and similar state laws Although they are far from experts in the implications and details of the WARN Act students are made aware of its general contours and the penalties imposed on employers who reduce the size of a workforce within short time frames

Students represent Morgan Buyer who is in negotiations with Lee Seller to purchase Sellerrsquos roughly two million dollar outdoor furniture manufacturing business The business currently has seventy-eight full-time employees eight of whom are on temporary layoff Twelve of the seventy-eight do sewing activities and ten of the seventy-eight work on the loading dock15 Seller is adamantly opposed to having any of the employees terminated in the purchase process

14 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988 29 USC sectsect 2101ndash2109 (2012) 15 These numbers work to make an interesting analysis under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (820 ILL COMP STAT 651 (2005))

Buyer explains to student-counsel that Buyer wants to terminate the sewing employees and replace them with technology a process that may take several months after the deal closes Buyer also explains that Buyer wishes to replace the loading dock employees perhaps by engaging a company that does loading services or perhaps by engaging the current loading dock employees as independent contractors (hoping to avoid the workerrsquos compensation liabilities and disruptions that plague this component of the workforce) In either event the current ten loading dock employees would cease being employees This move Buyer says could be accomplished quickly after the deal closes

Students are given a few hours to consider the clientrsquos wishes in light of statutory requirements and to formulate a plan or plans that will allow the client to accomplish all or most of the clientrsquos goals without triggering the WARN Actrsquos (or comparable state statutesrsquo) fines penalties or warnings Each student or pair of students meets with Morgan Buyer to explain the plans Morgan is best played by a person with business experience but in any event is scripted with good plans developed by the professor so that Morgan will be pleased or disappointed with the student-counselrsquos proposed plans

This exercise immerses the student into the role of transactional lawyer and sets up a realistic lawyer-client interaction in which the client has made business judgments and the lawyerrsquos job if the law allows is to develop action plans that accomplish the clientrsquos lawful goals

Flawed Contract Review Exercise

A good multi-skill building exercise is to give students a flawed contract (such as an independent contractor agreement lease restrictive covenant or similar agreement) to review

In this exercise students conduct research about the requirements for the type of agreement identify substantive issues with the contract and write a short one-page memo to the business client about these issues along with questions for the client about business terms16 Students interview the

Numbers should be adjusted by the professor if other state statutes or the federal WARN Act is used 16 See THOMSON REUTERS PRACTICAL LAW httpslegalthomsonreuterscomenproductspractical-law (last visited Aug 31 2018) (provides excellent resources for students including practice notes standard annotated forms and checklists)

client as a group in class with the professor playing the role of client and every student asks at least one question

After the interview the professor provides feedback to the class about the method of interviewing and quality of questions including the need for open-ended questions especially at the beginning of the interview The professor also provides feedback to the students about the appropriate tone format and substance of the memo for a business client such as the need to be positive minimize detail and use bullet points and headings

The final step in the exercise is for students to revise the agreement addressing substantive provisions business terms and stylistic issues

Transactional Attorneys as ldquoClientsrdquo in Simulated Transactional Negotiation

One of the challenges in creating an effective simulated sophisticated commercial negotiation is to provide simulated clients who can provide the realism of the business client but within the context of focusing on teaching the role of the transactional lawyer An excellent source of these ldquoclientsrdquo is transactional attorneys especially alumni of the law school who are committed to giving succeeding generations of transactional law students the transactional legal knowledge and skills that they might not have had an opportunity to develop within their own earlier law school experience

Practicing transactional attorneys are especially helpful in being able to provide a realistic simulation of a client with a particular background or experience (such as a client who is personally concerned about his or her workforce when selling the family business or a client whose business is basically a series of acquisitions within a particular industry) Attorneys with experience in these types of transactions can capture the motivations and typical reactions in their portrayal of these types of clients and their specific knowledge of the lawyerrsquos role in representing these types of clients generally produces much more ldquorealisticrdquo simulations than portrayals by non-attorneys such as actors or business students

Most important if one is fortunate enough to have transactional attorneys with a commitment to mentoring the next generation available to play roles as clients in simulations the students then have the opportunity to debrief their simulations with the benefit of attorneys who not only provide feedback in their roles as clients but who can also

demonstrate as attorneys how they might handle a client interview or a negotiation with counsel for the other side These types of debriefings led by the professor in which students discuss transactional law and skills with transactional attorneys they know and trust after a couple of weeks of successful simulation provide invaluable opportunities for students to probe and understand the subtleties of written and oral communication in the context of a business transaction

Conclusion

The exercises described above represent only a fraction of the potential simulations that a professor can use to teach communication skills in the context of transactional law Various factors such as class size and availability of local practitioners and other resources will necessarily affect the viability of these examples Nevertheless teaching communication skills is a key aspect of transactional law and skills education especially in view of the relative focus on litigation-based communication in the law school curriculum Transactional lawyers communicate differently from litigators in important respects and students need to understand these differences and gain experience in both contexts as part of their legal education

APPENDIX A ACTIVE LISTENING CHECKLIST

Body language

bull Eye contact

bull Open and welcoming posture

bull Facial expressions

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

bull Avoidance of daydreaming

Following

bull No interruptions or talking over

bull Questions for clarificationmore information

bull Resistance to being defensive or giving advice

bull Attention to emotions and underlying motives

bull Attention to what is not being said

Reflective Listening

bull Restatements of whatrsquos been heard

bull Asking to be corrected

bull Asking for additional information

Communication

bull Using ldquoIrdquo instead of ldquoyourdquo

bull Avoiding ldquoshouldrdquo and ldquooughtrdquo

bull Avoiding ldquoyes buthelliprdquo

bull Replacing ldquowhyrdquo with ldquohelp me understandrdquo

APPENDIX B CODE OF CONDUCT EXERCISE

YOU ARE IN-HOUSE COUNSELWHATrsquoS YOUR ADVICE

1 An attorney in your office tells you that an outside law firm hasoffered the legal department 2 tickets to the NCAA Championshipworth $750 each

2 A manager wants to know about purchasing signs from the signcompany owned by the managerrsquos brother for an event that yourorganization is planning

3 An internal auditor reports to you that a manager in the accountspayable department is delaying paying bills that are due in the lastmonth of the fiscal year until the following month

4 A manager asks you if itrsquos okay to hire the managerrsquos daughter-in-law for a position in the managerrsquos department since she would beperfect for the job

5 The CFO asks you if itrsquos okay for the CFO to serve on the boardof a private for-profit organization

6 An IT executive who attended a Microsoft-sponsored conferencelast week wants to know about keeping a free Surface tablet thatMicrosoft handed out to conference participants

7 An IT employee asks you about working part-time on the weekendsfor a computer programming business that does work for yourorganization

8 An employee asks you about including a back massage on theemployeersquos expense report after two very stressful weeks ofrepresenting your organization in high pressure meetings overseas

9 An employee asks you about using the companyrsquos computer forpersonal reasons during the lunch break

10 An employee asks you if itrsquos okay to post something on Facebookabout a new product thatrsquos being rolled out

APPENDIX C EVALUATION CRITERIA FORM BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS

Number of Team Being Evaluated ______

Please complete the following assessment of the Team you are evaluating using a 1-5 scale with 5 representing ldquovery strongrdquo and 1 representing ldquovery weakrdquo

______ 1 NEGOTIATION PLANNING

bull Team demonstrated a clear understanding of the facts and issues and its clientrsquos interests and objectives

bull Team appeared to have a strategy and clear goals and priorities

______ 2 FLEXIBILITY

bull Team was flexible in adapting its strategy to new information and other developments during the negotiation

______ 3 COMMUNICATION

bull Team communicated in a clear and articulate way bull Team displayed confidence and persuasiveness by

means of speech tone eye contact and body language

______ 4 INFORMATION-GATHERING

bull Team was effective in asking questions and drawing out the interests and objectives of the other side

bull Team identified mutual interests of the parties

______ 5 ACTIVE LISTENING

bull Team respectfully listened to the other side and did not interrupt the other side

bull Team demonstrated understanding of the other sidersquos interests and objectives

______ 6 CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING

bull Team was creative in developing solutions to problems

bull Team demonstrated effort to find solutions with mutual gains

______ 7 CLIENT ADVOCACY

bull Team clearly expressed clientrsquos interests goals and priorities throughout the negotiation

bull Team effectively advocated for its client and protected the clientrsquos interests

______ 8 OUTCOME

bull Team appeared to achieve (or was on the road to achieving) an outcome that met the objectives of its client

bull Team adequately and accurately summarized points of agreement and any unresolved issues at end of negotiation

______ 9 ORGANIZATION

bull Team followed a clearly stated agenda bull Team periodically used recaps to keep discussion

organized

______ 10 EFFICIENCY

bull Team effectively used the allotted time bull Team took break (if any) at appropriate time and

made effective use of break

______ 11 TEAMWORK

bull Team worked well together in sharing responsibility and providing mutual backup and support

bull Team did not talk over each other

______ 12 WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER TEAM

bull Team was receptive to the other teamrsquos offers and ideas

bull Team established a positive working relationship with the other team for future negotiations

______ 13 PROFESSIONALISM

bull Team conducted the negotiation in a professional manner and appeared to observe ethical standards

______ TOTAL POINTS

COMMENTS Please add any comments you may have

APPENDIX D EVALUATION FORM

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

Needs Improvement Competent Excellent (0-1 points) (2-3 points) (4-5 points)

CATEGORY SCORE COMMENTS I Preparation and Knowledge

bull Appears adequately prepared

bull Demonstrates command of subject matter

II Presentation Content bull Addresses issues in

sufficient depth for audience

bull Explains issues with clarity

bull Conveys meaningful insights in addition to facts

III Organization andEfficiency

bull Presents issues inorganized way

bull Focuses on issueswithout unnecessary detail

bull Uses time wisely andcovers importantissues in allotted time

IV Communicationbull Speaks clearly and

articulatelybull Speaks with

appropriate volumespeed and projection

bull Maintains the interestof the audience

bull Conveys enthusiasmfor the topic and hasgood energy level

bull Invites and leadsdiscussion effectively

V Use of Slides or OtherVisual Materials

bull Uses appropriate amount of text

bull Uses text size andcolor that are readable

_________________________________

bull Has visually appealing materials

bull Does not read materials from slides

bull Uses materials in way that enhances rather than detracts from presentation

VI Poise and Professionalism

bull Demonstrates confidence by speech tone eye contact and body language

bull Avoids nervous habits and mannerisms

bull Commands respect bull Has collegial approach bull Exhibits professional

demeanor

APPENDIX E PEER EVALUATION

Student Presenter(s)

1 What did you find particularly interesting or learn as a result of this presentation

2 What did you find particularly effective in the style of presentation

3 What do you think could be improved in the style of presentation

Teaching Communication Skills in Transactional Simulations

Repository Citation


TEACHING COMMUNICATION SKILLS INTRANSACTIONAL SIMULATIONS

Eric J Gouvin Katherine M Koops James E Moliterno

Carol E Morgan amp Carol D Newman

Abstract This article describes the role of communication exercises in transactional law and skills education and provides several examples of such exercises After a discussion of fundamental differences between communication in the context of litigation and transactional law the article discusses exercises designed to improve written communication skills including the use of e-mail in the context of transactional law It follows with a similar discussion of exercises focusing on oral communication skills including listening interviewing counseling negotiation and presentations The article concludes with examples of exercises combining oral and written communication skills in the context of simulated transactions

General Introduction

Communication skills are vital for practicing attorneys and law students benefit strongly from opportunities to practice and develop their communication skills In particular carefully constructed simulation exercises can help students find their voices and become more confident in their communications learn how to address different audiences improve writing skills including grammar and accuracy and learn to speak clearly and effectively In focusing on opportunities for students to develop overall professional communication skills this article emphasizes

Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus Western New England University School of Law

Assistant Director Center for Transactional Law and Practice and Adjunct Professor Emory University School of Law

Vincent Bradford Professor of Law Washington and Lee University School of Law

Clinical Professor and Director Business Law and Ethics Program University of Georgia School of Law

Transactional Professor of Law University of Missouri School of Law

Background

Letters and Memos

Cover Memo Exercise

Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Background

Letters and Memos

Cover Memo Exercise

Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Background

Letters and Memos

Cover Memo Exercise

Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Background

Letters and Memos

Cover Memo Exercise

Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Cover Memo Exercise

Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Cover Memo Exercise

Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Oral Communication

Background

Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Listening Skills

Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Negotiation Skills

Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Presentation Skills

Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Presenting Key Text

Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Conclusion

Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Body language

bull Eye contact

Mental engagement

bull Rapt attention

Following

Communication

______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


______ 8 OUTCOME

organized

______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


______ 11 TEAMWORK

______ TOTAL POINTS

Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Presentation

Date ______________________________

Student _____________________________

Evaluation Scale

_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


_________________________________

demeanor

Repository Citation


Documents

Teaching Communication Skills in Transactional Simulations